A painting challenge

Well Saturday and Sunday went by really quickly. I got the dates wrong for the Garden Show - it's next weekend - oops. Managed to start some photo editing of the wedding I photographed in Picasa. It's giving me a feel for playing with light, highlights and contrast but the resolution isn't great. Will have a go with Darktable and another called GIMP before I try Lightroom again - yes am a little overwhelmed by LR still - it's going to take time and confidence.

Today I trekked out to Helensvale to go and paint the phone box I had been asked to do. It wasn't the greatest of neighbourhoods and I was very glad to have my friend Lucy with me. Was also nice to have someone paint it with me as it was a massive surface to cover. Lucy arrived with coffee (amazing) and my friend Nikki who commissioned me came with the enamel gloss paint which proved to be extremely sticky (I am still covered in yellow after showering and scrubbing). There was a lot of rubbish around the phone box and what looked like human poo - which was rather gross. A drunk dude came and relieved himself against the wall opposite me. There were quite a few Sunday drinkers loitering around and we had commentary from onlookers throughout - almost entirely male. The last guy to come over was very critical and I don't think his last comment in Shona was flattering. Oh well, we did it and managed to avoid the police on the way home - at one point a policeman passed on his motorbike and we worried he might come over and say we were vandalising even though we did have municipal permission to be doing it. Luckily he went away and didn't hassle us.

My painting on the left, Lucy's on the right

Tomorrow I start teaching my Chinese four year old again and I will meet his little baby brother for the first time. I also see my psychiatrist again for a check up. Apart from the usual nausea after I take my lithium I've been fine and managed on my own in France for a week OK. Looks like I will be house sitting for someone else after this for a couple of weeks. They have a swimming pool, which will be amazing as it is starting to get incredibly warm as we head towards the suicide month of October.